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Defence
Exports to be De-licenced
The
Ministry of Defence is working on de-licensing the exports of
defence production and a legislation to this effect is
contemplated in the near future. This was disclosed by Mr
Dhirendra Singh, Additional Secretary, Defence Production and
Supplies. Delivering the keynote address during a workshop on
‘Export Potential of Defence Equipment’, Mr Singh said the
Ministry of Defence has a great interest in such interactions
among producers and exporters of defence equipment. He said
that since 1995 self-reliance in defence production has been
the policy of the government and 70 per cent of self-reliance
is to be achieved within the next ten years. Mr Dhirendra
Singh said the Armed Forces in the country are the sole users
of defence products, so exports of defence equipment in the
world market is very difficult and limited. But he encouraged
the participants of the workshop saying that those who have
entered this area are doing well. Mr Singh added that when
others can do well at our cost then we could also do well at
their cost. The Additional Secretary stated that during the
last financial year the export of defence equipment by private
sectors amounted to 1800 crore rupees and the Defence Public
Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) shared 16 per cent of the export.
The
workshop was organised by the Federation of Indian Export
Organisation. The Ordnance Factory Board, Directorate General
of Quality Assurance, eight DPSUs and about 80 defence
equipment exporters participated in the workshop.
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PIB (DW)
Action
on Pending Issues
Defence
Minister, Mr George Fernandes has written to the State
Governments and Union Territories to take action on pending
issues relating to resettlement and welfare of ex-servicemen.
In his letter, Mr Fernandes has stated that the Committee on
Government Assurances of Lok Sabha reviewed the feedback
received from State Governments on these issues recently. The
Committee expressed its unhappiness about the tardy
implementation of measures even by some major states, he said.
The Minister urged the states to amend the Rent Control and
Land Tenancy Acts to safeguard the interests of the
ex-servicemen and set up corporations to help them in
resettlement. Revision of rates of cash grants/monetary
allowance given by states to gallantry award winners must be
looked into, he said.
Mr
Fernandes stated that reservation of house sites/houses for
ex-servicemen/widows of Defence personnel and exemption from
payment of house tax to war widows and war-disabled
ex-servicemen must be properly facilitated. Removal of
domiciliary restrictions for admission of wards of Defence
personnel/ex-servicemen in technical/vocational courses must
be speeded up, he said.
The
Committee was particularly concerned that certain important
measures such as amendment of Rent Control Act and Land
Tenancy Act, reservations for widows/ex-servicemen, allotment
of houses/house sites and removal of domiciliary condition for
dependents of ex-servicemen in professional colleges have not
been adopted so far. Mr Fernandes urged the State Governments
to make sincere efforts to address these problems and ensure
an urgent action.
- PIB
(DW)
GRSE
Pays Dividend
Garden
Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE), a defence
public sector undertaking of the Ministry of Defence has
presented a dividend cheque worth Rs 1.17 crore to the
Minister of State for Defence Production & Supplies, in
New Delhi.
GRSE
has paid a dividend of Rs 4.27 crore to the shareholders for
the year 1999-2000. During the year, the company achieved
production valued at Rs 427.30 crore as against Rs 425.95
crore in the previous year. The sales amounted to Rs 880.44
crore as against Rs 363.52 crore in the previous year. The
ship repair/refit activities contributed a revenue of Rs 9.48
crore as against Rs 1.85 crore in the previous year.
GRSE
delivered two major war vessels INS Brahmaputra, first of the
class of 16A frigates and INS Aditya- the largest indigenously
built fleet tanker during 1999-2000. GRSE Yard No. 2047, first
of the series of four fast attack craft (FACs) was
commissioned into the Indian Navy recently at Visakhapatnam.
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PIB (DW)
Opportunities
for Ex-Servicemen
The
Vivekananda Rock Memorial and Vivekananda Kendra of Kanyakumai,
offers opportunities for ex-servicemen to serve as volunteers
for noble causes in its institutions located in Assam and
Arunachal Pradesh.
There
are vacancies in various categories like Doctor/Educational
Instructor/Head Master/Principal for Higher Secondary
Schools/Campus Manager/Supervisor for Building
Construction/Nursing Assistant/Physical Training Instructor
and Band Master. The posts are to be filled urgently. The
selected candidates would be provided free accommodation
besides honorarium which varies from Rs 15,000 to Rs 4,200 per
month according to the post. Interested candidates may write
to Lt Gen NS Bhatnagar (Retd), Ashraya, S/410/10, Greater
Kailash-II, New Delhi-110048, Telphone No. 6210327 for further
details, by enclosing individual contact address immediately.
-D
PR(D)
Army
Aviation Flight Safety Trophy
 Gen
S Padmanabhan, Chief of the Army Staff, presented the
prestigious Flight Safety Trophy for the year 1999-2000 to 7
Reconnaissance and Observation Flight of Army Aviation
presently operating in the forward areas of Jammu &
Kashmir. This trophy is awarded annually to the Army Aviation
unit for achieving the best overall performance and flight
safety record during the year. Lt Col AS Parmar, Flight
Commander received the trophy on behalf of his unit.
Barely
fourteen years old, the Army aviators have been rendering
yeoman service to the nation with distinction. The fledgling
Corps had the distinction of being awarded unit citations to
both of its Squadrons for their sterling performance in
operation vijay. Apart from the operational tasks, Army
Aviation has been active in the alleviation of suffering
during floods, droughts and other natural calamities. Their
fleet of light helicopters has become an indispensable asset
in the hands of the Field Commanders. Throughout its
existence, the Army Avaition Corps has always lived up to its
motto: ‘Swift and Sure’.
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PIB (DW)
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